


Securing an Asset

by BuddyWritesFic



Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Angst, Drugs, M/M, Manipulation, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:01:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24778069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuddyWritesFic/pseuds/BuddyWritesFic
Summary: Horus courts Fulgrim to bring him over to the side of Chaos.
Relationships: Fulgrim/Ferrus Manus, Fulgrim/Horus (WH40K)
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

Fulgrim paced. “This isn’t like him,” he said. “He’s never had panic attacks before. He’s never maimed a sibling or killed Huscarl or run off like this before.” _Your fault,_ said the voice in his head. _Everyone knows it’s your fault._

“I know you’re concerned for him,” Horus said. “Your concern does you credit. But this is not the time for hasty action.” He took a pipe from his pocket and lit it, taking a long, slow drag. “Konrad has always been sensitive.”

“But not like this!” _He’ll be branded a traitor and killed,_ the voice continued. _Your fault._ “I’ll follow him. He’ll talk to me. I’ll figure something out, I’ll –”

Horus put one massive hand on the back of Fulgrim’s head and tilted him back for a kiss. Fulgrim struggled, just a little, and Horus held him in place. He opened his mouth and breathed in, letting Horus feed him tangy smoke

Points of light floated down across his vision. He tried to track them, but they seemed to move with his eyes. “I feel dizzy.” A second stretched out into a timeless void. He was in Horus’s lap. He didn’t remember sitting down. Horus’s hands were behind his head again, unpinning his hair. He watched it tumble down around his face. It fell faster than the lights.

“Konrad will be fine,” Horus said. “He’ll calm down once he slaughters a few million. We can deal with him then.” Another drag, another kiss before Fulgrim could reply. He didn’t struggle this time.

Dizzy sparkles again. He snuggled into Horus’s reassuring bulk and kissed his neck above the collar of his shirt. Soft cloth and smooth, warm skin against his lips. The comforting scent of Horus’s sweat. He opened his mouth to taste him. “I… I suppose he is a little better disposed after a battle. Or ten.”

“Of course he is. We’ll talk to him then. For now, I want you to relax,” Horus murmured into Fulgrim’s ear. “Keep me company tonight. Do that for me, little brother?”

Fulgrim turned his head, suddenly shy, but he nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ferrus hates me.” Fulgrim’s eyes were red. His face was pale and streaked where he had cried his makeup off. Flyaways were fraying from his usually immaculate braid, and his hands shook as he stood in the Warmaster’s office. “He hates me. He thinks I’m weak and pathetic and overdramatic, and he’s never going to talk to me again!” He heard the words over and over in his head, thousands of times every day. He couldn’t shut them out. “Daddy hates me. Ferrus hates me. Please brother, I don’t want to be alone. I know you’re busy. Let me help you. Whatever you’re doing, I can help! I won’t be in the way, please, _please_ let me stay with you!” His begging cut short as he choked on a sob.

Horus moved his chair back from his desk. “Come here. Of course you can stay.” Fulgrim collapsed into his arms and clung to him like a shipwrecked sailor. “Ferrus is a stubborn ass, and Father’s worse than he is.”

This drew a shocked laugh from his brother. “You can’t say things like that.”

“If Father doesn’t want me to say he’s a stubborn ass, he can drag himself away from Precious Terra and tell me.” He rubbed Fulgrim’s back. “Do you want to optimize the missile guidance systems?”

“Yes, please.”

Horus handed him a data pad and stylus, which Fulgrim took with desperate gratitude. “I need a three percent increase in accuracy under high atmospheric pressure conditions.”

“I’ll give you six,” he promised.

“I have no doubt you will. Do you want your medicine?”

“Yes, please.”

Horus filled a pipe with Davian crystals. Fulgrim took a hit, and it steadied his shaking hands. Another hit, and his shoulders relaxed. Soon he was curled up contentedly in his lap, smoking and reading through the guidance system specs, tilting his head up now and then to kiss his brother’s lips.

He was becoming more erratic lately, his relationships more strained. And every crisis brought him back into Horus’s arms.


	3. Chapter 3

“Good evening, brother,” Horus greeted Ferrus Manus.

Fulgrim had already leapt into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist. “I’ve missed you. I’m sorry. I was so afraid you wouldn’t come...” _You’re pathetic,_ said the voice in his head. _You’re a kicked dog crawling back to Master._ In his heart, he was still angry. He didn’t know why Ferrus had started kill-stealing all of a sudden or why he took offense when Fulgrim had called him on it, but he missed him so much he would have said anything to get him back. And Horus needed them to be a team now, more than ever. That was what he’d said. Fulgrim was helping.

Ferrus grunted. “Course I came.” He’d been relieved to get the invitation. It meant Fulgrim was over his snit about Ferrus saving his life (which was still perplexing. He’d never been annoyed by Ferrus saving his life before), and Horus would be there to mediate. Even before Father had abdicated his military duties and by extension his intermittent interest in his sons’ lives, Horus had always been the cool-headed Dad Jr. they relied on to keep the peace between brothers in conflict. Ferrus was grateful he was there. “You know I like makeup sex,” he said.

It was generally agreed among the family that makeup sex was the best part of a relationship with Fulgrim.

“After I acted so awfully?” Fulgrim asked. _He’s the one who insulted you. He doesn’t respect you. He’ll never respect you. No one does._

“Yeah, I’m not mad or anything.” Ferrus squeezed his lover tightly. He’d missed him. He was horny like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, and he was glad to put the whole stupid thing behind them. “Just stop being weird, all right?”

The voice in Fulgrim’s head screamed with laughter. “Of course,” he said. He fought back tears. He gave a little chuckle to show how calm he was now. How serene. “Of course I’ll stop being weird.”

“That’s what I wanna hear,” Ferrus said, patting his ass. He looked over at Horus. “You gonna help me with this, or what?”

Horus moved closer to embrace them. “I’m glad to see you reconciled.” He grabbed a handful of Fulgrim’s perfect ass while Ferrus handled his chest. One tamed Ferrus the way one tamed a predator, by appealing to his appetite. He felt fortunate that Fulgrim made such willing bait.

Fulgrim leaned back, supported by his brothers now instead of by his own grip. Relax, he told himself. Enjoy this. He needs to see that you enjoy this. _Don’t relax too much,_ the voice countered. _He can barely stand you as it is. One wrong step, and he’ll decide you’re dead weight and throw your carcass to the scavengers._ He curled his hand and dug his nails deep into the flesh of his palm. The pain sang out a clear and lovely middle C through his cacophony of self-loathing. I don’t have to worry about wrong steps, he thought, because I’m not going to do anything wrong. I am the galactic champion of pleasing Ferrus Manus, and I am going to do this _perfectly._

That being settled, he turned away from Ferrus’s attentions, hiding his charms demurely against Horus’s chest. He gave a shy little glance over his shoulder like a deer looking for the wolf at its heels.

Ferrus grabbed him with one supernaturally strong hand and undid the shoulder-tie of his tunic. It fell away to reveal an expanse of smooth creamy-white, like the breast of a marble statue. He stroked his hand across the tender flesh, and where his hand went, his lips followed, kissing hungrily until – “What happened here?”

“Hm?”

Ferrus touched the patch of skin on Fulgrim’s chest. “It’s scaly. Did you get burned?”

 _You’re disgusting._ “It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s hard and scaly.” He leaned in to look at the area more closely. “Weird...”

_You’re being weird._

“It looks like snake scales.”

 _So much for perfect._ Fulgrim pulled his tunic back over his chest. He struggled out of his brothers’ arms and onto his own feet.

“Did you fight a big snake?” Ferrus asked. “And the snake skin got on you? Because that’s a thing that happens, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

 _Shame._ “You always do this,” Fulgrim snapped. “You _always_ do this! Nothing I do is ever good enough.”

“Fulgrim, darling,” Horus cooed, but Ferrus spoke over him.

“I don’t always find scales on your skin. That’s what I’m saying; it’s weird.”

“Stop saying everything’s weird!” _Looks like the ‘galactic champion’ is out before the first round. Disqualified because no one wants to touch you._

Horus interposed himself between them and put his hands out in a calming gesture. He was curious about Fulgrim’s skin condition (and he had a few hypotheses about its origin), but he restrained his curiosity in favor of restoring the peace. “I think we’re all under stress right now, and – ”

“Fine then, it’s not weird!” Ferrus said. “I’m just worried. You could be sick.”

“I’m not sick!” _Did you get it from your children? Did Eidolon pick up a scale-pox from a townie because you weren’t watching him? How many will you lose this time? Father of the fucking Terran year._

“You might be sick,” Ferrus insisted. “You look pale lately, and you’re acting – ”

_weird weird weird weird weird weird weird_

“ – different. I think you need an apothecary.”

 _He wants you to die so he’ll never have to touch you again._ “I know you think I’m useless – ” Fulgrim screamed.

“I never said that.”

“ – and you’re _so much_ better – ”

“I _never_ said that!”

“ – and I’m just a terminal rad-case you should leave out for the ion-weasels – ”

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“ – but I can handle myself. I don’t need you judging me because I’m not a perfect robot with no feelings. I don’t need you at all.”

“Fine! You don’t need me!” Ferrus threw up his hands and stomped off toward the door. “Call me when you get over your jerk flu!”

“Call me when you learn how to fuck!” Fulgrim yelled at the closing door. When Ferrus was gone, he gave a wordless, heartbroken scream and started savaging the furniture.

Horus took the setback in stride. Fulgrim was a weapon recently modified to be more powerful at the cost of being harder to control. He was still feeling out how he handled. They’d bring Ferrus around another time.


End file.
